Role of interleukin-21 in HBV infection： friend or foe？

作     者：Yongyin Li 

作者机构：Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Unit Nanfang Hospital Southern Medical University Guangzhou China State Key Laboratory of OrganFailure Research Southern Medical University Guangzhou China Colla borative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious DiseasesZhejiang University Hangzhou China 

出 版 物：《Cellular & Molecular Immunology》 (中国免疫学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第12卷第3期

页      面：303-308页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 090602[农学-预防兽医学] 07[理学] 08[工学] 09[农学] 0906[农学-兽医学] 071007[理学-遗传学] 0901[农学-作物学] 0836[工学-生物工程] 090102[农学-作物遗传育种] 

基　　金：The authors express their sincere thanks to Drs Xiaoyong Zhang and Chris Kafai Li for their critical comments. This work was supported by the Major Science and Technology Special Project of China (2008ZX10002-004  2012ZX10002-003 and 2011CB946100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81270025) 

主　　题：hepatitis B virus immunomodulatory interleukin-21 

摘      要：I nterleukin （I L）-21, a cytokine produced by activated CD4＋ T cells, has broad pleiotropic actions that affect the functions of a variety of lymphoid cells. The roles of IL-21 in modulating immunity to infections are currently being defined. Notably, IL-21-mediated cellular and humoral immune responses play an important role in determining the outcome of viral infection. This article reviews the current knowledge on the critical role of IL-21 in hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection. As a competent intermediary, IL-21 derived from virus-specific CD4＋ T cells plays key roles in sustaining CD8＋ T cells and promoting B-cell responses that are essential for effective viral control. However, as a mediator of inflammation, I L-21 is also involved in the development of HBV-induced liver cirrhosis and exacerbating liver injury. Overall, the current data point to IL-21 as an immunomodulatory cytokine in HBV infection. Immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at optimizing the beneficial effects of IL-21 in HBV infection may prove to be a rigorous challenge in the future, as they should foster the strengths of IL-21 while circumventing potential drawbacks.